Odwa Bongo

Odwa Bongo
Vocalist | uHadi Player | Cultural Storyteller

Odwa Bongo is a distinguished South African vocalist and one of the few prominent contemporary players of the uHadi (an indigenous Xhosa musical bow). Known for his expansive vocal range, soulful delivery, and deep cultural commitment, Bongo’s work seamlessly blends traditional sound with modern expression, captivating audiences across the country and beyond.

A graduate of the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town, Bongo was awarded the Dean’s Merit List Award for academic excellence in Music Performance. His talents have been recognized nationally and internationally from touring globally with the Drakensberg Boys Choir and winning Best Tenor Soloist, to performing with the Standard Bank Schools Big Band at the National Arts Festival.

Bongo was named one of South Africa’s Top LGBTIQ+ creatives by The Wire (powered by Celebrity Services Africa), joining the ranks of Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu, Muneyi, and Desire Marea. His love for isiXhosa culture has earned him a feature on SABC 1’s Youth Culture documentary series and participation in a cultural research film powered by the University of Cape Town.

In recent years, Bongo launched The uHadi Experience an annual music and storytelling showcase aimed at restoring dignity and visibility to South Africa’s indigenous bow traditions. This passion project has been staged at top venues including Artscape, the Baxter Theatre, and WOMAD South Africa (2022).

His growing body of work includes collaborations with musical and cultural heavyweights such as the late Dr. Madosini, Camagwini, Zolani Mahola, Koleka Putuma, Pieter Odendaal, Thandeka Mfinyongo, and Morena Leraba. In 2024, Bongo was invited to perform at the Embo Music Concert at the Soweto Theatre, honoring Robert Sobukwe, alongside Zawadi Yamungu and Iphuphol’ka Biko.

More recently, he opened for celebrated artist Buhlebendalo in Cape Town and performed to a large and enthusiastic crowd at Black Labone, hosted at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria. His latest recorded collaboration with spoken word artist Pieter Odendaal is officially available on all digital music platforms.

With his unique fusion of vocal mastery, indigenous instrumentation, and storytelling, Odwa Bongo is not only preserving tradition he is reshaping the sonic identity of contemporary South African music.